Conventional railway track involves the laying of sleepers at predetermined distances apart depending on the loading of the line, and the laying of ballast. Both the sleepers and the ballast have to be replaced from time to time and one of the objects of the present invention is to avoid this labour and cost.
Another object of the invention is to reduce the cost of supporting the track by eliminating the necessity for transverse sleepers.
A further object of the invention is to reduce the size and mass of rail required by providing continuous support under the rails, thereby also reducing cost.
A yet further object of the invention is to reduce the time and therefore the cost of laying track and to reduce the actual material cost substantially.
A still further object of the invention is to substantially simplify the construction of continuous or partly continuous foundation beams required for heavy axle equipment application such as the wheeled foundation structures of crane, stackers, reclaimers and shiploaders in the ore transporting applications.
A further object of the invention is to enable continuous or partly continuous support to be constructed with greater safety and ease over bad soil conditions such as marshy ground.